Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005.Joey Podlubny
/ Swerve

When it comes to doing laundry, there’s no place like home. Still, the rise of laundromats offering more than just access to coin-operated washing machines certainly makes doing your dirty work in public more appealing. San Francisco’s Brainwash Cafe and Laundromat, for instance, is a hip, full-service restaurant with laundry services on the side; the Laundromat Cafe in Copenhagen offers more than 6,000 books to peruse for those awaiting the spin cycle; and Calgary’s own Luxe Laundromat, opened last year, regularly hosts art installations and record-release parties.

And then there’s the Edmonton Trail Laundromat. With its primo location beside Carino Japanese Bistro and across the street from Diner Deluxe, this coin laundry needn’t offer sustenance; patrons can easily excuse themselves from tables at the two conveniently close eateries to wash, dry and fold. Instead, the laundromat offers a refreshingly random, charmingly unhip display of celebrity intrigue, inspiration and comedic entertainment courtesy of its energetic and eccentric owner-operator.

Joshua Lee is a former high-school geography teacher originally from Kyungsoo, South Korea who has presided over Edmonton Trail Laundromat since he purchased the business in 2005. Lee says he, his wife and their five kids, who moved to Canada in 1998, are happier here “where life is less stressful and less competitive.”

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Still, he admits he’s not exactly living his dream. Given the magazine photos of stars ranging from Céline Dion to Jack Wagner to Marilyn Monroe and Babe Ruth covering nearly every available inch of wall space, it’s not too surprising to hear Lee say, with more than a little humour, that he once dreamed he’d be famous all over the world. He’s managed to settle, he says, “for being famous only in my shop.”

Despite the narrow confines of his reputation, Lee has found in his shop a raison d’être that suits his large personality. “My purpose in life is to help people say goodbye to stress. I want them to feel happy when they come in here; that makes me happy.” While a dated photo of Céline and René on the dryer may not bring everryone lasting contentment, Lee’s over-the-top yet cheerful admonishments to would-be abusers of the washing machines will likely make even jaded laundry-doers chuckle: “If you continuously over load machine... Joshua has to give up and shut down his tiny business because of too much maintenance.... Then you have to go to Bow River and wash.... Even in winter of -30 degrees! If you want this situation, go ahead! Overload!”

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